Awards & Rankings 04.10.24
Pillsbury’s International Arbitration Group Again Included in GAR 100 Guide as Top International Arbitration Practice
Source: Global Arbitration Review
Over the course of his nearly 20-year career, Richard Deutsch has been at the center of some of the most important issues in international arbitration. He was named a Lawyer of the Year for International Commercial Arbitration by Best Lawyers in America for 2023.
Rich represents clients worldwide in all aspects of international arbitrations, advising industry leading companies in both commercial and investor-state arbitrations. He has served as lead counsel in arbitrations administered by all the major institutions, including the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), as well as ad-hoc arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Rich’s recent work includes representing investors in investment treaty claims against the governments of Colombia (refinery construction delays and expenses), Guyana (transportation concession), and an Asian government (royalty rights related to offshore drilling), as well as commercial claims involving a leading Swiss pharmaceutical company (ICC Rules) and real estate and corporate fraud-related claims involving Chinese and German entities (HKIAC Rules). He was named a 2023 Lawyer of the Year for International Commercial Arbitration by Best Lawyers in America and is consistently recognized as a leader in his field.
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Rich also sits as an arbitrator. He is a fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has been an arbitrator in energy and construction matters involving oil refineries and infrastructure projects, as well as gas trading, among others. For the last decade, he has been teaching international arbitration courses at the University of Texas School of Law as well as serving on the faculty for the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) University’s Executive Master of Business Law program. In 2018, Rich played a role in the representation of the family of Otto Warmbier, gaining a $501 million decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colombia against the government of North Korea for its role in the torture and death of Mr. Warmbier. He also assisted in obtaining a genocide declaration against ISIS in 2016 for its acts against Christians, Yezidis and other religious minorities, marking the first such determination by the U.S. government.
Rich’s government investigations practice has been built on the representation of companies implicated in matters at the forefront of government scrutiny. Most recently, Rich represented a leading civil engineering firm in the largest Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) investigation undertaken by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). He has also represented international energy companies implicated in industry-wide Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) scandals, guiding them as they were being investigated by the DOJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. He has provided FCPA due diligence to energy companies and medical devices companies with business dealings in high-risk locales, including Brazil, China, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mexico and Nigeria, among others.
In his commercial litigation practice, Rich has represented U.S. and Canadian banks and energy companies in large securities matters in federal and state court, including several multimillion-dollar cases related to the Enron scandal. He has also defended a multinational bank in class action consumer claims and general commercial disputes.
Before earning his law degree, Rich was a sportswriter and wrote extensively for Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Austin American-Statesman, The Houston Post and Texas Monthly Magazine. Rich sits on the Board of Trustees at the Holocaust Museum of Houston and is actively involved in several legal associations.
Representing several U.S. and Chinese investors in three Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre arbitrations involving real estate holdings and loan agreements (Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre).
Representing claimant U.S. energy trust against an Asian government in an investor-state arbitration regarding cancelation of offshore drilling rights in violation of an investment treaty (UNCITRAL Rules arbitration).
Representing claimant Smart City Holdings, Inc. in an ICSID arbitration against the Cooperative Republic of Guyana arising from the government’s freezing of a transportation concession in violation of Guyana’s Investment Act and bilateral investment agreements (ICSID Case No. ARB/21/64).
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Representing a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a $1 billion dispute regarding the development and marketing of a new product in an ICC Rules arbitration in Zurich.
Representing a U.S. biopharmaceuticals company in an ICC Rules arbitration in Berlin.
Representing an African investment group in a dispute with two Chinese companies arising out of loan and share transfer agreements in an arbitration administered by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.
Representing Foster Wheeler in a multibillion-dollar ICSID arbitration against Colombia (ICSID Case No. ARB/19/34) for violations of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, arising from a construction project in Colombia.
Representing Foster Wheeler in a multibillion-dollar ICSID arbitration against Colombia (ICSID Case No. ARB/19/34) for violations of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, arising from a construction project in Colombia.
Representing Claimant Smart City Holdings, Inc. in an ICSID arbitration against the Cooperative Republic of Guyana arising from the government’s freezing of a transportation concession in violation of Guyana’s Investment Act and bilateral investment agreements (ICSID Case No. ARB/21/64).
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Education
J.D., Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 2002
B.A., English, The University of Texas at Austin, 1989
B.A., Journalism, The University of Texas at Austin, 1992
Admissions
New York
Texas
Courts
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas